Confusion hits consumer market over U.S. ban of Kaspersky

1of 2FILE - This Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, file photo shows a sign above the headquarters of Kaspersky Labs in Moscow. Worries rippled through the consumer market for antivirus software after the U.S. government banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Labs software on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. Best Buy said it will no longer sell software made by the Russian company, although one security researcher said most consumers don't need to be alarmed. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)Photo: Pavel Golovkin, STF

2of 2FILE - In this Saturday, July 1, 2017, file photo, an employee of Kaspersky Lab works on computers at the company's headquarters in Moscow. Worries rippled through the consumer market for antivirus software after the U.S. government banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Lab software on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. Best Buy said it will no longer sell software made by the Russian company, although one security researcher said most consumers don't need to be alarmed. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)Photo: Pavel Golovkin, STF

Worries rippled through the consumer market for antivirus software after the U.S. government banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Lab software on Wednesday. Best Buy and Office Depot said they will no longer sell software made by the Russian company, although one security researcher said most consumers don't need to be alarmed.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited concerns about possible ties between unnamed Kaspersky officials and the Kremlin and Russian intelligence services. The department also noted that Russian law might compel Kaspersky to assist the government in espionage.

Kaspersky has denied any unethical ties with Russia or any government. It said Thursday that it will continue to get its product to customers "through its website and other prominent retailers." Kaspersky software is used by consumers in both free and paid versions, available both online and in stores.

The U.S. government action raised the question of whether those users should follow the U.S. government's lead. Some companies sought to tread carefully, addressing questions from customers who asked about it without alarming those that didn't.

Nicholas Weaver, a computer security researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, called the U.S. government decision "prudent." He had argued for such a step in July. But he added by email that "for most everybody else, the software is fine."

The biggest risk to U.S. government computers is if Moscow-based Kaspersky is subject to "government-mandated malicious update," Weaver wrote this summer.

Kaspersky products accounted for 5.5 percent of anti-malware software products worldwide, according to research firm Statista.

Other experts, however, suggested that consumers should also uninstall Kaspersky software to avoid any potential risks.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the U.S. ban of Kaspersky.